Who are the Big and Middle-sized horror publishers?

[Rechan]

I know Cemetery Dance and Samhain are the big dogs, but who else is out there, and which are the middle-sized presses?

[AnonEDust]

Hardly anyone publishes horror these days (unless your name is King or Koontz, that is). Vintage (an imprint of random house) publishes some here and there. They put out "the Ruins." There are smaller companies that put out only a few titles a year, you'd have to look them up.

[Lizardbeast]

I met with a lit agent a few years back. she also said that horror Is a dead genre. It's not nearly as popular as it used to be, and the agent wouldn't touch my manuscript just because it was horror. There aren't many markets for the subject, that's for sure. These days it's all romantic and erotica crap that I won't read for money. I, however, refuse to believe that horror is dead. Go to amazon and type in horror novels. 80 percent of those are self pubbed. I was lucky to get a couple of mine published, but it's not a big (or even mid) company, and there's no advance. Let me know if you want the link for them. Either that, or I'd advise you look for an agent (online or in guide to lit agents, not at a conference). Conferences are expensive if all you want to do is meet an agent, who will probably end up telling you what they told me.

My first advice, seek an agent who's interested in horror. If all else fails, self publish.

[neverending]

You guys are both way off the mark. There are dozens of creative small presses publishing every type of horror you can possibly imagine, and then some.

Check out

http://www.ralan.com


or

http://www.duotrope.com

or network on Facebook. If you can't find horror publishers, you're not doing your homework. Forget the big houses. Unless you have a name and a following, they're not going to publish you, no matter how good your book is. Start with a small press and build your reputation.

[Lizardbeast]

Never ending-- I had no idea! I took the agents word for it, and she has ties to the big boys, which, like you said, aren't interested in anyone who's not established. It is a tough market to break into, if you want to be wildly successful. Some people who self publish do very well, too.

[neverending]

Yes, some do- must mostly they had a name to begin with, or they tapped into a heretofore unthought-of market- like the dinosaur or bigfoot erotica so popular on Amazon.

[neverending]

You both might want to check out Dark Regions Press. They're a reputable outfit with a great track record, and are currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts. I have something submitted to them myself. Be prepared for a wait though. I talked to them at a con and they have been swamped.

[Lizardbeast]

Never--dark regions looks promising. What sucks is the novel I just completed is too long :/

Good luck on your manuscript! I'd ask what the title, plot line is, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to give anything away until you hear back from dark regions. If I write any more, and the word counts right, I will definitely send them. I do have a lot of other stories, but I can't send them, as they're self pubbed.

500 dollar advance? Not a lot but certainly not bad. Not bad at all :)

[neverending]

In the small press scene, you'll find an advance of any kind to be rare, so the 500 bucks they're offering is a fortune. The novella I have in to them is an 18,000 word ripped from the headlines sci-fi/horror tale of a team of scientists in the Arctic Circle trying to revive a wooly mammoth carcass, titled "Awakening of the Dream Beast."

[Lizardbeast]

Cool! Sounds good. I hope they publish it. Keep us informed on the status. How long have you been writing?

[neverending]

I started writing when I was about 8 years old, took a about a decade off in my 40s-50s because I was stupid, and started again seriously a few years ago.

[Lizardbeast]

I started writing at an early age too. Our teacher wanted us to write a story for class credit--anything we wanted to write. I was hooked instantly :)

[Doc Faustus]

Right now, there are not many really big horror publishers. Nightshade and Leisure have folded. Cohesion is showing a lot of promise and Dark Regions is excellent, but doesn't have open submissions very often. Permuted is a good sized organization. Perpetual Motion Machine and Omnium Gatherum are really starting to pick up steam and have both had Stoker nominations with them this year. There aren't really as many mass market horror paperbacks hitting the shelves from non big five presses as there used to be. You'll find most horror books hit Amazon instead of finding shelf space, except in better, independently run bookstores. Deadite Press does wonderful things, Keene, Edward Lee, Wrath James White and sometime in 2015, myself. Horror publishing is not going to get you on grocery store shelves anymore, which is all right. There are still lots of small to midsized options doing wonderful work.

Neverending's advice is spot on, but yeah, Samhain is badass. I would not recommend querying Cemetery Dance for anything until you've got a serious reputation. Mostly, I'd advise you join Duotrope to learn about markets and go on Facebook and friend or follow writers you like.